Lómelindë
by Medea Smyke
Summary: The Death Poems of the Kings and Queens of Numenor, translated by Lord Randir of Lossarnach. (As referenced in Hotspur and Steelsheen.)
1. To Sir With Love

December 1, 2934

To His Royal Highness, Angelimir,  
Prince of Dol Amroth,  
Lord of Belfalas.

Dear Sir,

I have the privilege of presenting the work commissioned by Your Highness in the advancement of Númenórean literature. Please find enclosed the copy of the translated _Lómelindë._ Your highness will, I hope, forgive me for not delivering this volume into your hands in person. Having complete familiarity with your taste and wisdom as a scholar, and knowing that you will not feel satisfied with the outward ornament, but must observe also the inner workings, I will here briefly describe the style and substance of the material available to me. This is a subject I hope we will be able to further discuss over a glass of Dorwinion when next we meet again in Minas Tirith.

The death poems of the Kings and Queens of Númenor were written in a singular style known as the lómelindë, which translates most comfortably as dusk songs. These death poems composed at the close of the kings' or queens' lives were light verses invoking natural yet spare imagery to reflect upon their identity or reign. As your Highness knows, the kings and queens had the gift of the Valar, in which they could give up their lives while still on the cusp of their vitality. With this acute awareness of choice and finality, the custom began with Elros Tar-Minyatur.

You will notice that I have taken the liberty to rework the structure of the lómelindë to fit the considerably more compact language of Westron. The verses here follow a scheme of 5-7-5 syllables rather than the capacious 12-10-12 structure actually used. I trust that although this is not a literal translation, you will consider it a faithful one. The Númenórean dialect of Quenya, with its idiosyncrasies (particularly toward the height of the Second Age and the increasing popularity of Andûniac), have rendered some death poems particularly difficult to translate faithfully into Westron while maintaining form. I beg you to forgive any clumsiness of expression and the great licenses I have taken to render the poems readable to the modern eye.

For my sources, I am deeply indebted to Master Panthael of the Archives. Through his care and diligence, I have held the very commonplace book belonging to Elendil himself, without which the death poem of Tar-Palantir would have been lost forever. Much as I love Minas Tirith, he generously rendered me the great service of copying out the Quenyan Lómilendë quartos in the Archive's possession so that my wife and daughter were not completely abandoned in Lossarnach during my studies.

For the passages that left me stumped, as my daughter would say, I owe all my gratitude to our mutual kinsman, Prince Mirion, whose prowess of Númenórean Quenya is without parallel. You will find enclosed with this pamphlet, the volumes of Númenórean history and chronicles which you graciously provided from your own great library at Dol Amroth. The Quenya death poems of Tar-Minyatur through Tar-Atanimir the Great were collected in quarto editions that have survived in various forms and still crop up every now and again in the great libraries of our wealthiest families. That reminds me, sir, with respect, to suggest a thorough dusting of the palace library. If a folio edition of Goldamir's _Genealogies_ should be found, I would be forever in your debt. As you know, Steward Turgon is anxious that I should complete my notes on his maternal family line.

To close, my dear cousin, it is ten years ago to the date that I first filled my pen and wrote with trembling fingers, "Child of the spray." I hope that a decade of patience will be recompensed by the offerings found here. May the flaws herein, as well as poetic liberties taken by your humble friend, neither displease Your Highness, nor injure this scholar's stature in your eyes.

Your obedient servant,

Randir of Lossarnach

p.s. Hirwen and Morwen wish to be remembered to you and send their love to Firiel and Adrahil. They are counting down the days till we meet again at lossemeren.


	2. Tar-Minyatur

Tar-Minyatur  
F.A. 532 - S.A. 422, aged 500  
Recorded by Vardamir

Child of the spray, I  
Climb the starlit hills rising  
In the western sky.

Elros Tar-Minyatur received from the Valar the gift to relinquish his life willingly. Here begins the tradition of the poem spoken on the deathbed as a token ofthat choice. In the tradition of Minyatur, the poem reflects the nature of the individual's identity as received through his name. Here, the king chose his Sindarin name, which when translated into Westron means 'elf of the spray' or star foam. This is noteworthy as he received the essë in early childhood from his foster parent, Maedhros. His poem, and therefore his identity, point both to his foster parent and his birth father, as his ascent in death toward the starlit hills undoubtedly refers to the mariner Eärendil.


	3. Tar-Vardamir

Tar-Vardamir Nólimon  
S.A. 61 - 471, aged 410  
Transcribed by Amandil

Like stars circling  
High Meneltarma, my soul  
Wings upward in praise.

Though Tar-Vardamir's kingship was merely titular, his death poem is still included in canon. His name means Jewel of Varda. His poem's imagery references both Varda and Manwë, and perhaps it is a representation of the Praise of Eru, the spring festival, in which the king left Armenelos to climb the heights of the holy mountain to offer fruits to the One.


	4. Tar-Amandil

Tar-Amandil  
S.A. 192 - 603, aged 411  
Transcribed by Elendil

My heart will set now  
Beyond western shores. Behold,  
A far green country.

Tar-Amandil's name translates into Aman-lover or "devoted to Aman" in Quenya. He invokes the traditional image of the Blessed Realm, home of the Valar and the Elves, as he himself journeys to his final home. Tar-Palantir's death poem can be viewed as a stately nod back to Amandil.


	5. Tar-Elendil

Tar-Elendil  
S.A. 350 - 751, aged 401  
Transcribed by Meneldur

The stars beckon me  
Across the uncertain sea;  
My final ship sails.

Tar-Elendil is the last of the kings whose death poem was transcribed by his successor, which is to say, his son. Hereafter, court poets and various vassals were on hand to record the poems. There is some debate as to the translation of his name, as either elf-friend or star-lover. Insert your own elf quip here. His own preference is perhaps apparent in his choice of imagery. Also noteworthy, Elendil begins the tradition of paraphrasing his life's work. During Elendil's reign, the Númenóreans made contact with Middle-earth and ventured more actively to those shores. This enthusiasm would pass on to his grandson, Aldarian. His epessë, Parmaitë, or book-handed, comes from his patronage of many books of lore and legend, which makes him something of a patron saint of scholars. This fact tends to be overlooked in the more martial-centric histories found in the Archives.


	6. Tar-Meneldur

Tar-Meneldur Irimon  
S.A. 543 - 942, aged 399  
Transcribed by Caegaren

A haze in the east,  
May these wings fly homeward, safe  
To the Gates of Morn.

Tar-Meneldur's death poem heralded two important shifts in the genre. "Lover of the heavens," Meneldur possessed that Númenórean proclivity to star-gazing, which is still pervasive in Gondor today. Perhaps from his high tower on Forostar, he perceived an atmospheric hint of the threat rising in the east, along with the news his son brought to him from Middle-earth. Though his imagery invokes the heavens, in accordance with his name, scholars have noted the beginning of the paranoia that would later permeate royal death poetry. The second shift occurred when Tar-Aldarion could not be summoned to Meneldur's side in time to record the death poem. The task fell to the court poet, Caegaren. Hereafter, the king's successor no longer performed this rite.


	7. Tar-Aldarion

Tar-Aldarian Anardil  
S.A. 700-1098, aged 398  
Transcribed by Opharthdun

Bounding shadow seas  
Beneath unknown stars, my ship  
Splinters in the storm.

Tar-Aldarian's youth and reign were marked by controversy. His first love remained the sea and it is said he spent more time on his ship than on his throne. He was the first of the Dúnedain to perceive the rising threat of Sauron and influenced Tar-Meneldur to establish havens in Middle-earth. His influence made future alliances with the Elves remaining on those shores possible. However, his neglect of Númenor and his domestic affairs had far-reaching negative consequences for the kingdom. A helpful gloss left by some cretin in the margins of the source text suggest his ship might have been less splintered if it had gone to harbor more often.


	8. Tar-Ancalimë

Tar-Ancalimë  
S.A. 874 - 1285, aged 412  
Transcription attributed to Tiriniel

Between crown and crook,  
Between seabreak and greensward,  
Plant this bitter root.

Men from Tar-Ancalimë's court, her son included, were not permitted to enter her chambers when it became apparent that the Queen's death was imminent. Her poem, therefore, was not recorded by the Queen's appointed scribe, but hastily inked with cosmetic onto a cloth by one of her handmaidens. Records exist in commonplace books handed down by generations to present Gondorians containing references to the cloth being among the treasures on display in the King's House in Armenelos. This relic of familial strife, outshone only by the disastrous marriage between Ar-Pharazon to Miriel, is believed to be lost in the great disaster that befell Númenor in the Second Age.


	9. Tar-Anárion

Tar-Anárion  
S.A. 1003 - 1404, aged 401  
Transcribed by Eäron

Behold the red fruit  
Yavannamírë falling  
To sleep by deep roots.

Tar-Anárion's death poem is remarkably peaceful despite the scourge of maternal watchfulness blighting his early life and reign. Perhaps he believed he would not be joining Ancalimë in the afterlife. He does not invoke his name, "child of the sun," in accordance with tradition, and his point of view contrasts with his grandfather's in being distinctly local. Anárion's poem reveals that he was not eaten up with sea-longing or much affected by the larger happenings of Arda. His reign takes up little space in the chronicles and his estimation of his own person seems of little consequence. Indeed, he finds his imagery in the orchard, perhaps among the fruit trees of his own garden, but that is all.


	10. Tar-Súrion

Tar-Súrion  
S.A. 1176 - 1574, aged 403  
Transcribed by Serataro

Winds sing in my ear,  
Glad of voice and salty air,  
A gift for old bones.

The earliest kings chose death poems that reflected the nature of their names as a stamp on their identity as they entered into that long home beyond Arda, which some call the halls of their fathers, or whatever doom the One had in mind for Men. Tar-Súrion's poem is noted for its nod toward this tradition, when later kings choose rather to reflect on their achievements or obsess over the shadow rising in the east. His name translated into Westron is Wind-Son.


	11. Tar-Telperiën

Tar-Telperiën  
S.A. 1320 - 1731, aged 411  
Transcribed by Laitornë

I collected Nimloth's  
Leaves in earthen bowls these years  
Undisturbed by rain.

Tar-Telperiën had the good fortune to find nothing disturbing during her 175 year reign, except for the leaves littered by Nimloth in the royal courtyard at Armenelos. Happy queen, indeed. One wonders what the assizes looked like in her day. She maintained a peaceful reign despite the eventful happenings in Middle-earth. This we now know included the forging of the Rings of Power and the razing of Eriador by the forces of Sauron. One suspects the queen was rather near-sighted. Telperiën never married and the scepter passed to her younger brother's heir, Tar-Minastir.


	12. Tar-Minastir

Tar-Minastir  
S.A. 1474 - 1873, aged 399  
Transcribed by Eruthalion

I have summoned ships  
of war, yet see how I fade  
like broken sea grass.

Tar-Minastir ends the period of torpor that began with Tar-Ancalimë. Where his predecessor demurely swept the leaves into little earthen pots, Minastir's death poem conveys dismay that the energy which commanded armies has left him - that the end has come for him, after all. Indeed, Minastir combines the watchful interest of Tar-Meneldur with the vigor of Tar-Aldarion, renewing contact with the shores of Middle-earth and challenging the darkness there. Like Meneldur, he built a tower to keep an eye upon the east. Against Sauron's forces, Minastir sent his navy to save the haven at Lindon, forcing his enemy to retreat. The Númenóreans established the Haven of Umbar during this time.


	13. Tar-Ciryatan

Tar-Ciryatan  
S.A. 1634 - 2035, aged 401  
Transcribed by Eldahosso

Nest empty of gulls,  
My hands that pass the scepter  
Sadly miss its weight.

Historians suggest that Tar-Ciryatan may have strongly persuaded his father, Minastir, to abdicate the throne before his time. The king's preference for the scepter is certainly pervasive in his death poem. This is the first instance in canon of desire to rule as a thing in itself and at this time the Númenóreans began to speak openly against the Ban of the Valar and no longer to view death as the final, well-deserved rest. It is perhaps no wonder that his successor, Atanamir, would refuse to abdicate until death parted him from his royal duties. During Ciryatan's reign, he is noted for what he brought to Númenor from the riches of Middle-earth, rather than for the succor he provided to the Elves and Men there.


	14. Tar-Atanamir the Great

Tar-Atanamir  
S.A. 1800 - 2221, aged 421  
Transcribed by Almon

Fetch me a ladder,  
Boys, to steal the Seaman's Fate.  
Bugger the Valar.

It is clear that the copy we now have of Tar-Atanamir's death poem has been highly edited. It is said that his scribe, Almon, extracted the poem at great pains, as the king felt unwilling to relinquish his hold on life even as his father had been to relinquish the throne. Atanamir could not countenance the tradition which would require him to behold his end. For this reason some scholars debate the authenticity of the poem. However, the majority accept the poem as canon, citing the odd sensibility therein as consistent with the court historian's record of the king's senility and bitter obsession with the unique fate of Eärendil. The thirst for immortality exhibited in Tar-Atanamir's reign filtered down to his successors, who refused their Gift and to give up their lives while still in their vigor. Tar-Palantir, excepted.


	15. The Decline of Kings

This period is known as the Decline of Kings. When the rulers of Númenor refused their gift to willingly surrender their lives, they also refused the tradition of the lómelindë. Their reigns ended in decrepitude, unmarked and unlovely. These monarchs include:

Tar-Ancalimon  
S.A. 1986-2386

Tar-Telemmaitë  
S.A. 2136-2526

Tar-Vanimeldë*  
S. A. 2277-2637

Tar-Alcarin  
S. A. 2406-2737

Tar-Calmacil, Ar-Belzagar  
S. A. 2516-2825

Tar-Ardamin, Ar-Abattârik  
S. A. 2618-2899

Ar-Adûnakhôr  
S. A. 2709-2962

Ar-Zimrathôn  
S. A. 2798-3033

Ar-Sakalthôr  
S. A. 2876-3102

Ar-Gimilzôr  
S. A. 2960-3177

Ar-Pharazôn  
S. A. 3118-3319

Tar-Palantir is not included in this list, though chronologically he should appear. After many generations, he broke the silence to record his own poem. In his attempt to repair Númenor's damaged relationship with the Valar, he took up the traditions of earlier kings and relinquished his life willingly.

*We, of course, do not include Anducal [Herucalmo] in this reckoning.


	16. Tar-Palantir

Tar-Palantir  
S.A. 3035 - 3255, aged 220  
Transcribed by Atalanto

Though Noirinan's arms  
Cradle me, in my heart's eye  
Behold—Eldamar!

The kings and queens of Númenor were buried in a tomb in the valley of Noirinan at the southern slopes of Menaltarma. Tar-Palantir, who sought to right the wrongs of his predecessors, always longed to behold Elvenhome and to regain the favor of the Valar. He did not succeed. This is the last of the authenticated death poems written by the Sea Kings and Queens.


	17. Tar-Miriel

Tar-Miriel  
S.A. 3117-3319, aged 202.  
Traditional verse

Lady of Waters,  
Your nets weave a bed for me  
Ere the bitter wave.

Tradition maintains that Palantir's daughter, Tar-Miriel, prophesied the nature of her own death and so recorded a poem before the downfall, which the Faithful handed down. This is perhaps doubtful and scholars have all but denied the authenticity of her death poem. The eight-year-old scholar who is currently sitting on my knee with her copy of her Gondorian Children's Treasury, however, states that she will not forgive me if I do not include the poem in this anthology. Such is the politics of academia.


	18. Bibliography

Sources:

Aglareben, ed. _The Annals of Umbar_. Minas Tirith: The Archive Press, T.A. 2955.

Anorian. _Anorian's History of the Faithful and the Coming to Middle-earth._ Minas Tirith: The Archive Press, T.A. 3320.

Belecthor I. _Wars of the Sea Kings_. Minis Tirith: The Archive Press, T.A. 2640.

Calenlos, ed. _Uindili Papers_. Dol Amroth fragment. Minas Tirith: The Archive Press, T.A. 2303.

Elendil. _Commonplace Book_. Minas Tirith manuscript E1.1

Galador. _Quests and Conquests of the Noldor_. Dol Amroth: Belfalas Press. T.A. 2100.

Galador. _Our Elven Kindred_. Belfalas Press. T.A. 2085.

Galen. _Galen's Chronicles of the Sea Kings._ Pelargir: Admiral Publications. T.A. 1149.

Gladhwen of Lebennin. _Gondorian's Children's Treasury._ Minas Tirith: Little Candles Press. T.A. 1636.

Godewives Guild. _1000 Popular Baby Names._ Minas Tirith: Little Genealogies, Inc. T.A. 2922.

Goldamir's _Who's Who in Númenórean Royalty_. Minas Tirith: Commonplace Books, Inc. T.A. 1294.

Gondorian Poetry Guild. _Book of Traditional Númenórean Verse_. Minas Tirith: Elendil Publications. T.A. 2412.

Flagrant Hearsay

Lómelindë, MTL.1 complete

Lómelindë, MTL1.5 fragment

Lómelindë, DAL2.4 fragment

Lómelindë, PL.3.1 fragment

Mardil Voronwë. _The First and Second Age of Arda Remembered_. Minas Tirith: The Archive Press. T.A. 2071.

Mirion, Prince of Dol Amroth. Belfalas Papers. T.A. 2923 - 2933.

Panthael. _The Númenórean Mindset: Longing and Longships_. Minas Tirith: The Archive Press, T.A. 2898.

Panthael. _Death in the History of Númenórean Literature._ Minas Tirith: The Archive Press. T.A. 2900.

Panthael. Personal Interviews. T.A. 2923-2934.

* * *

Author's Note:

The idea for the Numenorean lomelinde comes from the Japanese death haikus. The beautiful little verses and their attention to and acceptance of the reality and immediacy of death struck me as very Numenorean, especially for the kings and queens who chose the time of their passing. It seemed fitting that they would mark the occasion, somehow. When I decided to put the poems together, at first they were just the haikus. I thought they needed something or someone to give them a frame and so they were assigned to my OC, Randir of Lossarnach, who is mentioned in my story Hotspur and Steelsheen. Then the descriptions and history followed. That is how the "story" of his patronage by his kinsman Prince Angelimir began. Randir is the father of Morwen of Lossarnach, who wedded King Thengel of Rohan. He is a scholar, a genealogist, and an avid reader. In my incarnation, he was formerly a scribe under Steward Turgon. I've enjoyed being able to give him a voice here.

And for those who are curious about the bibliography, yes, I even created a Minas Tirith style manual. ;)

Thanks for reading!


End file.
